Women and children in the prison cart soon disappeared one by one, they were brought to an auction and this made the woman shivered in disgust. It was as if they were buying an 'it' instead of her or them, it scared her that she'll be facing the same fate as they are because of her stupidity, and as the time moves nothing happened and she remained in the prison cart with the rest of young males and females.

The prison cart finally stopped and just as they were roughly taken there against their will, the same thing happened to them just now. The guards roughly took them by their arms and went inside the palace, it was amazing seeing a real palace, many maids were there doing their work and none gave them a sorry look, it was as if everything was a normal day, maybe it was for them.

The guards speedily took them which gave her no time to take in the beauty of the palace and then again she was taken here against her will, she will gladly leave this beautiful palace for a simple village if she was given a choice but she wasn't. When they've arrived a tall lady stood in front of all the young ladies, their eyes were puffy from crying and all of them seems frightened about the fact that they're here, it made the young woman give them a questioning look.

Of course, she knew that they were scared because they have seen their parents die in front of them and saw how their village was engulfed in flames but there is something wrong with the fear she saw in their eyes, it wasn't about their village nor their parents, was there something in the palace that made them shivering in fear? Is it the king?

The woman did read in novels that most kings are strict but in her opinion isn't that king great if he is strict? It means there's discipline cause they know what to do, who to show respect, who to fear but she couldn't understand that something is wrong with the fear inside the young females' eyes.

The woman in front of them waste no time and she looked at them all, her voice was colder than any voice she has heard, it was like a sword piercing a body in half without remorse, the woman spoke with so much authority, saying:

"You are to serve the Aurelius Kingdom which is the most powerful kingdom in the east, loyalty is what you need, you try to escape, you die. Remember who you are fighting, never look the king in the eye, always keep your head down when he's passing through, seeing the king eye to eye means you are signing your death certificate. The king hates lazy maids, you show even a little sense of laziness, you lose a limb. Be grateful you are here, you have your bed and we provide your food so, for now, I want you all to change your attires."

With that, she went out of the room, some females fell on their knees and cried their heart out and by this time the woman knew why they were showing such fear. The king wasn't just strict, he was merciless. The woman gazed at the sight of young females sobbing but she knew better, crying isn't gonna solve your problems, it will just drain out your energy which means a sign of laziness for the king. If your already here as well why waste time crying if you could live your life without paying for anything, she's not saying she wants to be here rather she's saying live a life in peace by following their instructions, easy as that.

She moseyed to the bed and saw the attire the king required for his people, it was a long grey dress with a white apron and a white hair cap which is good since everyone seems to be scared of her black hair, it was weird seeing how she lived in the modern world and most people have black hair wishing to have some bloodshot eyes to be called 'unique'

They even wear contacts just so they can achieve such a look and here she was being called a monster for being ridiculously pretty, it made her roll her eyes and without shame, she starts removing her clothing, making many young female gasps but she paid no mind.

"H-how can y-you just do that? Have you got no shame?!"

She looked over her shoulder, meeting a girl about her age, without emotions playing inside her bloodshot eyes, making all of them gasp again. The young woman knew what was going on in their minds, and it was indeed true, they were all scared by the fact that she has such ebony hair and crimson eyes however what scared them the most was that her eyes held no emotion, making the girl looked like a living corpse.

The woman though was very oblivious about her face, she did saw her face in the Hensberg Mansion but never did she realized that her eyes were as empty as the dead, cause she knew to herself that she can still feel happiness maybe she doesn't, who knows. She stared at them for a while, no one dared to break the silence then finally she answered them back with a question, saying

"Will, you really choose your pride over your life?"

Then she continued doing her thing, all of the ladies understood what she meant so ever so quickly they changed in their proper attire, not wanting to risk their lives soon after they were done the lady came back, she scanned the entire room and seeing that all the ladies were clothed with the proper attire she commanded them, she nodded to herself as if agreeing to herself that she found none of them with a lazy personality cause if she did they would've died that very day.

"Seems like you all passed the test. I left you all earlier to give you a choice, to act tough and disobey which means death is knocking at your door or to behave and obey, and since none of you aren't wearing your clothes earlier. I guess you all chose to obey. Very well done ladies, you've got the job."

A sigh of relief erupted to the entire room, they were all thankful to the young woman, if not for her. All of them would've died that very day, leaving her alone. A little later all of them were assigned to do their work, Aria was assigned to clean the library and the palace garden then the rest of the day is hers

She was guided into the garden by another maid, considering that she was new, and seeing it amazed her, it was as pretty as a picture. Everything fitted perfectly, as a kid in her past life, she wished to be a gardener because she loves seeing how the plants dance by the wind and how it blooms into the prettiest flowers, to be at peace with the plants and to see them grow but she grew up to face the opposite. No flowers ever bloom into the war platform, only hand grenades seem to bloom when it booms.

She smiled at the scene but it was interrupted by a hand on her shoulder, looking over her shoulder she saw a manly hand with dark skin, his hand was dirty and it has scrapes all over it and considering how big and manly his hands was she guessed that this hand belongs to a 'he'.

She faced him properly and dang! She was right about the fact that all men in this novel seem to be ridiculously handsome, she has never met anyone before with an ugly face and it gets her every time. His face was perfectly symmetrical with his magnificent ocean eyes and his pointed nose, his messy curly brown hair resting on his scalp with his beautiful dark skin and his height that was literally towering over her, covering the sun away from her. He was just perfect, considering that he was a character in a novel, he was giving off an innocent look and she can't help but reach out her hands to pet his hair.

The only problem was that his right arm was covered in scars just as it was in his left arm but anything more than that, he's perfect. The woman was so deep in thought and was just staring at the beautiful creature in front of her, completely oblivious that the man in front of her was giving such a scary look, his eyes were on her and it was as if a predator was staring at its prey but the woman's perception about this was different from what it looks. In her point of view, the man was staring at her with such cute innocent eyes, making her chuckle in delight. 

Without thinking the woman petted the stranger's hair more and squeeze his cheeks lovingly as if he was a child.

"Oh! How adorable."

The woman was still chuckling and petting his hair like a dog and the stranger had enough of it. He thought at first that she'll stop once she saw him glare at her like a wild animal but it made the woman chuckle which made him think that maybe he wasn't as scary as he thinks he is. He blushed at the woman's sentence and he looked away, embarrassed to the newcomer who seems to be not scared of him. 

'Is this woman crazy?'

"Let go."

The man spoke, his voice was deep, making the woman realized what she was doing to a stranger! What's worse is that she has come to see that he wasn't giving her such cute innocent puppy eyes, she saw very clearly how the man's eyes were glaring at her and if looks could kill, she'll be dead by now. 

'What in the world am I doing? Did I hallucinate or something?!'

The woman thought as she awkwardly took her hand back, chuckling as if she's done nothing wrong. The woman dared not to talk, they were just staring at each other, he was frowning, wrinkles were forming at the top of his brows. The woman knew it was her fault seeing how he was practically killing her in his mind but not knowing what to do she just smiled at him, it was forced, very and he knows it was.

Her lips were smiling yet her eyes and brows say otherwise. The tension between them was thick and the woman had enough of it, she's been wasting her time, staring at the man in front of her and so she broke the silence.

"It was nice to meet you, bye!"

The woman chuckle, she was about to sprint to freedom but once again the man spoke, making her frozen in place

"Stop."

'What does he want now?!'

The woman frowned, she just wanted to finish her chores but now it's more than that, she was practically screaming internally, calming herself down she took a deep breath and turning around to face him, her lips were once again in a beautiful forced smile

"Yes?'

"Come with me"

'The fudge is wrong with this guy?! I don't wanna come with you, you little di-'

"Are you coming or not?"

"Yes sir."

The woman followed the man in front of her, sticking out her tongue, she hates the fact that she can't yell at him and say no but based on her expressions the man knew that the girl wanted to say no while they were walking, the man's back was facing the woman and of course, the woman being her, she took that as her advantage and was bullying him behind his back. She was pointing her fingers at him, spelling the word 'ass', and was making faces even though she was the one at fault that she was in a situation like this.

The man abruptly stopped walking and since the woman was too busy bullying him, she hadn't noticed that he stopped, making her hit his back hard. An ow was heard from the woman's mouth, the man looked at her little form and saw that she was holding the bridge of her nose.

"This is your working place when your done cleaning here you can move unto your next assignment."

The woman peek and saw a fountain in the middle of a beautiful but dirty garden, dry leaves were all over the fountain as well as the grassy floor, there were stains in the fountain and the water wasn't as clear as she wished it to be but all in all, it was still beautiful, just dirty.

'so he was leading the way...God, he wasn't a d*ck, I was! This is awkward.'

She mentally groaned at her stupidity, she bowed at him saying her thanks, apologizing for her childish behavior. The man did not give her any reply and just walked away, leaving her alone in the garden.

"Rude! I did not even get his name."

The woman scoffed nevertheless she speedily got to work. When she was done, she sat by the tree and scanned her handy work and surprisingly everything was cleaned, it was heavenly to stare at but knowing she still has things to do, she got up from her slouching form with her cleaning materials at hand and she walked out of the inner garden and into the garden, she hoped she will not get lost, now she needed that guy.

While she was walking in the garden, everything was just peaceful, the flowers and the plants were dancing a little bit while the fresh cold air hits her face, she abruptly stopped and breath in the fresh air, letting her lungs take in the cold wind that was passing through her skin. This is what she was making for in her life, peace but fate seems to be playing with her since never in her life she has gotten peace.

She sighed loudly and continues her walking but after minutes of walking, she has concluded that she was indeed lost. The woman was not that great in directions but also not the worst however she's new here. It was a palace for goodness sake, anyone can get lost. She needed help from that 'puppy'